Campsis Indian Summer

A lovely selection of the native American Trumpet Vine, 'Indian Summer' should be an indispensable feature of your spring and summer garden. This eager climber sets masses of blooms combining soft shades of yellow with an orange-red center, followed by big seedpods. Left alone by deer and rabbits, it blankets fences, sprawls over outbuildings, and climbs arbors, beautifying all around it with its large, showy leaves and thousands of trumpet-shaped blooms.

'Indian Summer' is the winner of numerous awards, its multicolored flowers so beautiful and freely borne. Unlike the species, this trumpet vine will not invade, but it IS a vigorous clinging vine, so give it a strong structure to climb or cover, and prune it ruthlessly in early spring. This will not only ensure flowering (it blooms only on new wood), but will also create a lush yet restrained habit.

The blooms begin appearing in late spring, held among the showy leaves (which can reach more than a foot long!). They continue into midsummer, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies by the drove. And when they pass, they are followed by 3- to 5-inch seedpods, themselves very showy. If you let the seedpods ripen and burst in autumn, you will find many volunteer trumpet vines next spring. To prevent this, snip them off in late summer. (They make excellent everlastings in dried arrangements.)

'Indian Summer' is a treat not to be missed. It can be the centerpiece of a hummingbird garden, a backdrop to the sunny perennial border (it threads wonderfully through chain-link fences), and a cover-up for stumps and other unsightly garden presences. Make this hard worker part of your sunny landscape! Zones 4-9.